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Halt O'Carrick
Halt is a highly qualified Ranger and Will's mentor. Although being described as grim and unfriendly, he has a soft side when it comes to the people that he cares about. Originally from Clomel, Hibernia, he escaped to Araluen at a young age. He is famous throughout all of Araluen for his mysterious ways and seemingly unstoppable nature. Appearance His beard is bushy, and his dark eyes are steady and unwavering. He has also been described as someone who is twice the size of man and as strong as a bear, although it is not proven if he really is indeed as strong as one, and is described as being quite short and slim in book one. He is very strong due to his arms being toned through the years of training with the longbow. Halt is a very good tactician and master strategist, able to hold the Temujai forces off and force them to retreat while being outnumbered five to one with the help of Araluen slaves in Skandia and Will. Personality Although looking grim, pitiless and ruthless, Halt is actually very humorous (in a very sarcastic way) as well as caring, especially for his apprentice Will. Halt is, in fact, a very kind man, but not necessarily a "fair" man. Overall, however, Halt has a grim, sarcastic know-all sense of humour, but does feel that his former apprentice, Will, is like a son. Halt can often be very stubborn and doesn't often let his true emotions show. If someone whom he cares about is insulted or hurt in some manner he will quickly take offense as shown in ''The Burning Bridge'' when a foolish knight insults the Ranger and Diplomatic corps and also Baron Arald. He ended up being thrown into a moat. The only one who can actually force him to get a haircut, for example, is Lady Pauline, Halt's wife. History His legendary status also comes from the fact that it was he who have seemingly implanted the fear of horses to the Wargals. In the battle of Hackham Heath during the Morgarath's rebellion, he led a large force of Araluen cavalry through a secret ford and ambushed Morgarath's army, relieving the beleaguered Araluen main force and routing Morgarath's army. The few surviving Wargals created a fear of horses among further generations. At this time a man called Daniel saved Halt from a guaranteed death when he was cornered by Wargals. This man gave his life to spare Halt's and in return Halt protected his son, Will, and took him to Redmont to live in the castle ward until Will showed skills of a Ranger. Halt is best friends with Crowley, the Ranger Corps Commander and they both get along very well, Crowley also is able to poke fun at Halt. Their friendship developed when they were young rangers and they are known to have revitalized the Ranger Corps and just after that period Halt and Crowley soon began to build on the legends of the Rangers by defeating a evil bandit. This is discussed in the short story, The Hibernian, in Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories. Halt is also one of King Duncan's most trusted advisors and the King is saddened when he has to banish Halt for a year in The Icebound Land, after Halt publicly insults him so he could go after Will who had been kidnapped by Skandians in the events of book two. Halt is grieved by this also though he tried not to let it show (as ever).Halt is also an enemy of Temujai as he "borrowed" a breeding herd of their horses so that the Rangers have their horses today, and he also learned to make a recurve bow during his stay with them. Not much is known about the period he spent with the Temu'j apart from that he fought alongside and also against them. His skills with his weapons are so legendary and skillful that even if he claims that he had missed his shot, everyone knows he had hit it. His Longbow is larger than that of most Rangers', as in Halt's Peril, book 9, Will states his longbow is " One of the heaviest he'd seen, and even the strongest man, without proper technique could only bring it to half draw". He is likely the most skilled of all the Rangers. He is described as being slightly more accurate and a faster shooter than his former apprentice, Will, who is a better shot than Crowley and Gilan. However, Will is said to be nearly as skilled as his mentor, and may even surpass him with more training, which Halt himself has claimed. The Ruins of Gorlan In the first book Halt takes on Will as an apprentice after the young boy is rejected as an apprentice to all the other craftmasters. At first Will is a little daunted by the legendary figure but they soon warm to one another. When Halt takes Will to the annual Ranger gathering they meet up with Halt's former apprentice and Gilan and Will soon form a good friendship. When they arrive at the clearing the Rangers use for the gathering they discover that Morgarath and his Wargals are on the move and they have also employed two Kallkara, a vicious creature that resembles something out of a nightmare. Will, Halt and Gilan together track the animals out onto the plains. Halt realizes that to take on the Kalkara someone must go for help from Redmont. He sends Will because he's the lightest with some reluctance and Gilan gives Will Blaze so Tug can be spelled for part of the journey. While Will rides off for help, Halt aims for Castle Gorlan, the ruins of Morgarath's old fort. He leads the Kalkara there and tries to hold them off while he waits for help. He soon realizes that the Kalkara aren't, as he initially thought, after King Duncan or Baron Arald, but him - due to a grudge Morgarath bears against Halt for bringing about the downfall of his army. Halt manages to kill one of the creatures using his longbow but the other still comes for him. Just as it is about to get Halt, Sir Rodney and Baron Arald appear on the scene and help to fight off the other animal, Halt is however knocked unconscious by one of the animals and Arald soon becomes injured. Seeing that the men are about to be killed, Will, who is watching from a distance shoots at the Kalkara with a fiery arrow which destroys the beast. At the end of the book Arald offers Will the opportunity to become a battleschool trainee but Will declines the offer in favour of being a Ranger. Halt is pleased by this and for the first time smiles at Will. He later gives his apprentice a bronze oakleaf, signifying his offical entrance into the corps as an apprentice and tells him about his father, saying how Daniel (Will's father) saved his life in a battle against the Wargals and how he took Will and left him outside the ward as a baby so he could be raised there in safety. Will is initially a little saddened that his father wasn't a knight and only a sergant but soon realises that he is proud of his father no matter what his status was. The Burning Bridge In book three Will is sent to Celtica with Gilan and Horace to negotiate with the ruling council there. Halt is commisoned by Lady Pauline and Baron Arald to take charge of Alyss, accompanying her as she goes on her first diplomatic mission. Alyss is sent on a diplomatic mission to speak to Monatgue, a knight who lives in a keep near Redmont but hasn't cooperated with the fief, Alyss was sent to clear things up and persuade him to pay his taxes that he owes. Monatgue then insults her, Baron Arald, and Lady Pauline, Halt steps in at that point then throws him out a nearby window and into the moat, something her did earlier on the book with a knight by the name of Sir Digby. Halt then later leaves for the King's army which is preparing to battle against Morgarath. When Gilan turns up without Horace and Will he is immediatly worried but then reassured as Gilan tells him they are safe, at least, that is what Gilan thinks. During the battle Halt and Gilan lead a surprise attack on the Skandians which Moragarath had hired to lead an attack at the back of Duncan's army Halt foils the surprise attack. At the end Will is taken captive by Erak, a Skandian wolfship captain and taken to Skandia to be sold as a slave. Halt tries to stop the Skandians but is to late, on the beach he makes a promise, it's not known exactly what he promised but we can gather he was promising to bring Will back to Araluen as a freeman. The Icebound Land In book three he constantly tries to get permisson from the King and Crowley to follow Will who was captured by Skandians in the Burning Bridge, he is denied the permission and becomes angry. So, he deliberatly insults the King in a tavern and the Watch takes the Ranger away. He then faces a trial before Duncan and a number of other people, among them Crowley and Baron Arald The punishment is either death or banishment, the King, due to his friendship with Halt opts (naturally) for banishment, with a catch. He banishes Halt for one year and one year only to everyones pleasure. Halt accepts this and immeditaly makes for the coast. But due to his banishment he has to be stripped of his position and title of a Ranger which causes him much heartache. Gilan is upset by his mentor leaving and offers to join him to search for Will, Halt tells him to stay and track down Foldar, one of Morgarath's followers and then leaves. On the way to the coast he meets up with Horace who has come to join him. Halt is secretly pleased by this, having missed the company of a youngster though on the outside he seems annoyed by it. Once in Gallica Horace soon makes himself a name, defeating many knights. This attracts the attention of a local "warlord" who wants to take Horace on in combat, the knights name is Depernieux and he is a notorious man, giving any person who insults him, even in a minor and seemingly insignificant way, severe punishment, often resulting in death. Depernieux tries to challenge Horace to a duel, by striking his face with a guanlet, but Halt pins the glove to a wall with a well-shot arrow. Depernieux is startled, but realising that he is at a disadvantage due to the fact that Halt had an arrow pointed at him, leaves the inn and departs. Later on he captures Horace and Halt, taking them back to his foreboding fortress near the pass into Skandia which is currently blocked due to the snow. The Sorcerer in the North Halt and Crowley are both present at the Ranger's Gathering Ground to brief Will on his mission up north. At the end of the book Halt and the corps commandant send Horace from Castle Araluen to Macindaw to provide Will with some back-up if needed. The Siege of Macindaw Halt as in the previous book, appears only briefly. He comes in at the end of the book at the Gathering Grounds and listens, along with Crowley as Will gives his report on the happenings up in the north that had happened previously. He later states in book ten that he wasn't at all happy when he heard Horace and Will has assulted a castle with only thirty-two men. He guesses Will has feelings for Alyss and that things are complicated between the two but remains silent on the subject, aware that it is something that Alyss and Will must sort out for themselves together. He then calls him "son" as he watches his old apprentice walk off, signifying his feelings for Will. Erak's Ransom The story starts out with Halt and Pauline at Castle Remont discussing whom they are going to invite to their upcoming wedding. Halt is annoyed at the sheer amount of people who are going to be there as he was hoping for a quiet wedding. At the wedding Halt surprises everyone by displaying his excellent dancing skills having been taught in secret by Baron Arald's wife for some time before the wedding. He is moved to tears at the speech Will gives (Will being the best man) though tries to disguise it not liking to show his emotion. Later he sets off for Arridi, travelling to the wolfship on horseback with Will, Gilan, Horace and Svengal, he maliciously teases Svengal, enjoying the discomfort the large Skandian feels in the saddle but probably later regrets it as Svengal quickly gets his own back on the Wolfwind as Halt becomes seasick. The Kings of Clonmel In book 8, it is revealed that Halt is the twin brother to King Ferris of Clonmel (he also has a sister, Caitlyn, who had died before the book took place). Halt is actually seven minutes older than his brother and therefore should have been the king. However, Ferris believed that the throne was rightfully his, and tried to murder Halt three times. The first time was with poison, but he got the amounts of the poison wrong. He also tried to to crush Halt beneath a pile of bricks, he narrowly missed and succeeded in badly cutting and injuring Halts' leg, and tried to drown him while they were salmon fishing. Halt escaped to Araluen where he later became a Ranger. Later, he returns to Clonmel to convince his brother to defeat the Outsiders, a sinister cult who wants to control all of Hibernia and then Araluen. Though Halt and Ferris are identical twins, there are some major differences. Where Halt is 'lean and tough as a whipcord', Ferris is a bit overweight and rather soft. Halt has salt and pepper hair and a rough, full beard and Ferris wears a goatee and keeps his dyed black hair drawn back with a leather band. Because he dyed his hair black, Ferris looks at least ten years younger than his brother. Ferris is killed by a Genovesan, a foreign assassin, and he and the false prophet, Tennyson flee the country. Halt is slightly saddened by his brother's death but soon get's over it and is soon back to making sarcastic remarks. Halt's Peril In Halt's Peril, Halt is poisoned by an arrow from one of the Genovesan assassin's crossbows after he and Will accidently shoot at the same assassin after tracking two of the Genvesans. Will goes to fetch Malcom, a highly skilled healer who appeared in books five and six after Halt tells him that without the antidote he will die. Malcolm heals Halt and along with Horace they all travel to the village where Tennyson is preaching and trap him in a large cavern where he is holding a 'prayer-meeting' with the villagers he has deceived. Will, Halt, Horace and Malcolm ambush him and he is killed by Will who throws some of Malcolm's iodine-based smoke bombs at him. They then leave for Macindaw where Malcolm will go back to his home in Healer's Clearing escorted by Will whilst Halt and Horace go to Castle Macindaw before heading back to Redmont and home. The Emperor of Nihon-Ja Halt is with Will, Alyss and Selethen in Teutland where he is overseeing the finaly treaty declarations between Selethen and the officials; Alyss helps to iron out the final details. When Princess Cassandra turns up under the guise of Evanlyn bringing news that Horace is in Nihon-Ja and needs help, Halt goes with her Selethen, Will and Alyss to Nihon-Ja to help their friend. They travel by boat. In fact, by Gundar Harstrikers ship the Wolfwill, named in honour of Will Treaty, which has been modified with the Heron sail plan which makes it go faster and able to travel against the wind by a technique known as tacking. Halt, who gets seasick spends the first few days leaning over the side of the boat and is teased by Gundar after he recovers. Once the group arrives in Nihon-Ja Halt goes ashore with Alyss, as a translator and Will to watch his back. They go to an inn where a contact, a man called Atsu will meet them. Later on during the night Atsu comes to them and tells them that Horace has gone with Shigeru and his army to the fortress of Ran-Koshi. The Lost Stories Halt appears in the following stories from book 11 of the Ranger's Apprentice series: Death of a Hero, The Hibernian, Purple Prose, the Inkwell and the Dagger, the Bridal Dance and And About Time Too . . . 'Death of a Hero' The fist story, called Death of a Hero tells how Daniel came to save his life during the battle against Morgarath and the Wargals and how Will's mother really died. 'The Hibernian' In the Hibernian, it is revealed how Halt came to be a Ranger and how he became friends with Crowley. 'Purple Prose' I'n this story he and Will go on a mission to stop and band of Moondarkers from running a ship aground. Relationships * (front) and Horace (back right).]]'Pauline - Halt isn't the sort of person people would imagine to be romantic. However, he had been in love with Lady Pauline for a long time. Crowley also was in love with her secretly be he didn't say anything as he guessed something was going on between Halt and her. They are married in ''Erak's Ransom'' at a lavish and large wedding (to Halt's displeasure). *'Will' - Will is like a son to him and in turn, Halt is like a father to Will, they both care for one another, though Halt does not like to show it much. *'Alyss' - He is fond of Alyss and very pleased at her relationship with Will, she is one of the few people who can make him smile easily. *'Crowley' - he is a very good friend with Crowley, Crowley is one of the only people able to tease the grim Ranger. Both are practically brothers and were quite a team back when they were restoring the Ranger Corps to it's original prestige. Skills *''Archery:'' Halt is an extraordinary archer. He proves this through many missions throughout his life, such as the duel with lord Deparnieux. He also passes on his extraordinary talent through his former apprentices Gilan and Will. *''Hidden & unseen movement:'' Like all Rangers, Halt is extremely talented in unseen movement. He trained Gilan who is thought to be the best at this in the whole Corps.In fact, most situations Halt has had trouble getting out of have been because his companion is not as nimble as he is! *''Saxe Knife and Throwing Knife Skills:'' ''He is a master knife thrower and is presumably good at the double knife defense.It was this that saved his life in the Kalkara incident (He threw his throwing knife into the Kalkara's eye, a small target at long range. *''Tactical Thinking Skills: Halt has experienced and faced many problems and challenges in his life. Those experiences help him solve almost any problem that he comes across. Halt's thinking skills are looked up to by many people and even fellow Rangers, who think that he can solve anything. His stratagy skill has lead to the outcome of both wars against Morgarath and the battle of Skandia. *''Languages:'' Halt has a reasonably good grasp of Gallica and knows the common tounge as well as the language of the Temujai. Other Names *Arratay - used as a cover name several times, gallican for "Halt" *Halto-san - name given to him in Nihon-Ja as the people there had trouble pronouncing his proper name. Trivia *Halt is the Ranger of Redmont Fief. *He is said to be short. *He is often thought to be huge and muscular, not short and wiry. This leads to common folk being skeptical when he claims to be the famous Ranger. *Halt gets seasick for the first few hours on a ship, or during rough sailing. It is ironic because people know him as infailable. *In Gallican (French), Arratez means "Halt" and Halt has used "Arratay" as a cover name. *Halt suggested Will's last name,Treaty, to commemorate the Skandian treaty that Will helped form. *Halt also gave Horace his famous title "Knight of the Oakleaf" during their travels through Gallica in The Icebound Land. 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